N EW S L E T T E RRESPECT - SUCCESS - COMPASSION - INTEGRITY

Solomon Islanders Music VisitThe Primary music students have been learning about different families of instru-ments including string, wind, brass and per-cussion. They are also being introduced to instruments and music from other cultures. Last Wednesday students had a special visit from a group of Solomon Islanders who took the time out to share their culture and music with us. They played large panpipes with thongs and each student was able to have a go at playing the pipes! Thank you to Mr Kennedy Rogapitu and Mr Steve for organising the special program.

Monday, 16th March 2020 Week 8 - Term 1

Please note what activities are CANCELLED• Parent/Teacher Interviews• WOSE Hangout• Year 5/6 Camp• High School District Volleyball

Important things to take note of:

Primary students enjoyed their time on the pipes!Primary students enjoyed their time on the pipes!

CANCELLED - Parent/Teacher Interviews

Mobile Dental VanThe Dental Health Van will be visiting Hen-derson during Week 8 of this term - Monday 16th-Friday 20th March. All original forms have now been returned however they will still accept permission forms when they visit. Please see the office if you require one.

COVID - 19 UPDATEWe will continue to provide updated information via email with a SMS notification over the coming weeks. This pandemic is unprecedented for our country and education system however we are working with all authorities to ensure we support students and their learning as best we can.

As it is possible that school closures will occur, the College is preparing for this situation. We will ensure that learning will continue for all students. This will include online learning, learning materials in hard copy, or the use of learning resources that students can access and download from the schools student management system SEQTA, in the event that a school closure occurs.

In the meantime the College is putting many steps into place to ensure we protect the safety of students, staff and families.

Dear Parents/GuardiansOver the past week I have been trying to keep in-formed about the Corona-virus in order to be proac-tive rather than reactive updates for you!

Last night I sent all families a letter via email, however if you did not receive one then we do not have an email address from you! As we will be communicating via text and email with updates on the virus, could you please make contact with our office ladies and leave your email details. Today I spoke with the children about the reasons we are needing to cancel upcoming events. They could see the logic of ‘social distancing’ and the positive outcomes for countries that have implemented those procedures. As a result of cancelling Parent/Teacher Interviews, we will be sending home student ‘Interim’ reports by mail this week and Primary students will bring home their ‘portfolios’ of work for the term. We ask that the portfilos be returned before the end of term. I will send through an update midweek in regards to new information coming through from government health departments regarding Covid-19. Regards Sandra Ferry, Principal

Hi everyone, I was reading about the ‘The Rite Journey with Andrew Lines’ face book page and came across a site which has a story that is having a chapter added to by the author day by day. The first chapter of the story shows a child whose independent spirit helps him deal with being stuck inside for weeks. The story has no mention of disease; it’s about a boy who has to stay inside due to flooding. It’s not an explana-tion for why we are practicing social distancing. In her explanation for writing the story the author (Kim Allsup) states the following; “Over the last two decades, children have become increasingly programmed. And now, suddenly, they have no school (at

present most schools are open as normal), no after school activities, no trips to their favourite stores or restaurants. This is a great opportunity for children to discover that they are inventive and resilient. I’m hoping this story (and the ones you make up yourself) will help to scaffold children’s self-motivation and creativity during a time when they lack normal routines.”

The story is aimed at children from 4 to 12 and Kim is adding to it on a daily basis. Kim encourages parents to change the main characters name and gender etc to make the story their own. The story is on the site https://childrengrowing.com/ entitled Stories for Children in Times of Trouble – Story Telling help for Parents in the era of COVID-19. There are many other articles on the site that you may also find useful. Have a great week. Venise Lang.

PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGEPRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE

STUDENT WELFARE MESSAGE

Please take note of the school events that have been postponed due to government guidelines. We encourage students who are feeling unwell to remain at home and recover quickly.

If you suspected that your child may have the coronavirus the College will need to be informed of the test outcomes as we will then follow up with appropriate actions.

Kitchen Garden Last week students learned how to tell the difference from small cherry tomatoes and chilli’s - bit of a hot topic! They also enjoyed making stuffed cherry tomatoes with feta and pesto.

CLASS AWARDS

GRANDPARENTS DAY with Prep and Year 1 students has been postponed until further notice.

Primary District SwimmingLast Thursday more than 30 Primary School students competed at the Irymple Swim Meet from 5.30pm to 8.30pm. Congratula-tions to all our students and thank you for showing excellent sportsmanship. It was ter-rific to see many parents, families and other Henderson College students cheering on our team.

Thank you to Mrs Gibson and Pierre Giuliani for their assistance with timekeeping at the event.

Many students placed in the top 3 of their events and the Irymple Swimming Club will be sending the ribbons to our school. I will present the ribbons at a Friday morning as-sembly when they arrive. Michelle Johnson

F1 MelbourneThursday last week, four of our students from STEM classes were selected to travel to Mel-bourne to attend as a guest to watch the F1 State Finals. This program is new to Hender-son and involves students working in teams, designing and manuafacturing a miniture car out of the official F1 model block using Fusion 360 design tools. The cars are pow-ered by CO₂ cartridges and are attached to a track by a nylon wire.

There is no better extinguish-er for the flames of anger and bitterness than kindness.

Pastor Gerrard Price

CHAPLAIN’S MESSAGE

Homework Club is now in recess until next term - we will keep you updated when it begins next term.

HOMEWORK CLUB

UPCOMING DATESMarch 16-20 Mobile Dental Van

16-20 CANCELLED Week of Spiritual Emphasis (WOSE)

17-18 CANCELLED - Parent/Teacher Interviews

19 Yr 7/10 Immunisation

19 CANCELLED - WOSE Hangout

23-26 CANCELLED - Yr 5/6 Camp

25 CANCELLED - High School District Volleyball

27 Last day Term 1

April

13 Easter Monday

14 First day Term 2

20-21 CANCELLED - Alphabet Ark rescheduled dates to be advised

24 Cross Country-whole school

May

4 High School Regional Volleyball

5 Primary School District Cross Country

8 Yr 7/8 District Soccer

RESPECT - SUCCESS - COMPASSION - INTEGRITY

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